Woo, doggie! It's good to be back! I hope you all thoroughly enjoyed your π Day; I know I certainly did

So much to talk about! First, Conquer Club has finally put their partnership with SOS Africa into action! See that "Just Giving" widget on the left side of your screen? Well, Conquer Club is raising money to sponsor a child's education in Africa - a girl named Kelebogile! If and when the community donates a total of ₤600 (about $950 USD), we get a brand new Africa map! For more information, click here to view the announcement.

Second, the Cartography Assistants have issued a North America contest and the voting has started! With over 100 votes, Map 3 seems to be pulling well in front, but it is by no means all wrapped up! The CAs have also designed a special Round 2 judging process by them, AndyDufresne, and various Foundry regulars. Who do you think will win? Click here to cast your vote!

Third, it seems our dear Conqueror, Gen.LeeGettinhed, is getting a bit more than just that. Reports of "ranching" in the Cheating & Abuse forum have risen against the highest-scoring player. The webmaster himself, lackattack, openly agreed with the large majority of the community on the matter, saying,

However, it has repeatedly been stated that ranching is not against the rules, due to the difficulty of enforcing it (i.e. where do you draw the line?). In the most recent report against Gen.LeeGettinhed, support administrator, king achilles, stated,

That's it for news from me for this issue. I think it's time for the segment you've all been waiting for for a couple issues now! To make up for the two we've missed, I'll be naming three Subscribers of the Issue! The first, for Issue 65, davidjmemmett! For Issue 66, nemrehs1! And for Issue 67, none other than Quirks Wife! Congrats to the lot of ya! In order to receive your GA medal, PM me the name of the Writer or Reporter whose articles you most enjoy reading (and why!).

And to all of you Subscribers who get this PM'd and don't read this in the CC Newsletter forum, I will now make the header a click-able link to the thread, so you can post comments, questions, suggestions - whatever!

Well, we've got a swell issue for you, from a double-dose of "Historical Perspectives" with DoomYoshi to an in-depth assessment of strategies regarding the infamous 'bonus monkey' (and how to not be one) with Viceroy63 to another great "Tournament Tips" by DaveH involving Microsoft Excel to new Foundry Reporter, Flapcake, and his first article about his map, Denmark, to the Clan Team's showing off their fancy new icons and banners, courtesy of DiM.

Hope everyone had a good Pi day. May the dice be with you on St. Patty's, especially if you're the green player. Anyways, we have another Hot Topics, DoomYoshi brings us further Civil War correspondence, and Symmetry talks about his favorite OT threads.

So, I was just trolling the forums one day, and saw this topic on iPhone/iPod mobile CC app!. I was like, NO WAY! Seeing as I have an Iphone, this will be MUCH easier than having to log in every time into Safari. It takes a long time to take turns and to view things... So this will definitely be faster, better, and more convenient than just using Safari.

THINGS THE APP OFFERS:

- Saves log-in details- Displays current games- A big red button to start assaults- An overview that will display game information (selected territories, troops to reinforce, etc.)- A pull down/retractable menu that displays player stats- And more!!!

Want to get into the Mafia scene, but don't know how to play or even what it is? Consult these threads: Mafia Information, Mafia and You, and Rules and Terms of Mafia.Too much work? Too lazy to read through everything? No worries, you can always jump right into a game and ask for other players or the game runner to help guide you.

What is "Mafia"?Mafia, for those of you that don't know, is a game that generally takes place in a town, where the townspeople have to determine who the mafia (or "scum") is and lynch them via a majority vote during the day and the mafia try to kill everyone at night and bluff their way out of getting killed by the town.

Mafia NewsThe Official Nightmare Before Christmas Mafia is nearing an end with only 4 players remaining. Town seemed to be doomed, but 4 straight mafia lynches have pulled town back from the brink of a loss. Who will be the victor?

An interesting thread has been started regarding a more quantitative way to balance mafia games. It's an interesting read for the more numerically inclined players, but the difficulty remains in accurately predicting player behavior.

Mafia CalloutsCalling all players interested! Some mafia games need some filling:

Advanced Roles and Strategy by safariguy5Short real time games are under review this issue

Real Time (RT) Games

What is It?Real Time games are mafia games that are played in real time. They usually happen in one thread on the mafia forum or in Live Chat. They can be spontaneously created or planned out ahead of time. Due to the different timezones and schedules of many of the mafia players, these games tend to be small, ranging from 5-9 players and 1 mod. These games are different from regular games in that they tend to be much shorter (about 30 minutes from start to end) and certain strategies can be used differently.

ExampleJack finds there are 6 people in Live Chat. He creates a new room named "Mafia" and invites them to play a RT game.

How this Differs from Regular MafiaRegular Mafia games have the luxury of a long time scale. This gives the players time to build good cases with quotes of evidence. Due to the fast paced nature of the RT game, quoted evidence becomes much harder to retain due to the posting being extremely quick. Therefore, one major misstep will probably be the only piece of evidence needed to lynch someone. Posts tend to be shorter and less substantive as players rush to accuse and defend themselves. RT Mafia games also tend to have games that are experimental in setup, and may be less balanced than regular mafia games.

One common mafia tactic in RT games is speedhammering. Since all players are online at the same time, mafia can quickly hammer a voted townie. This tends to be a bigger concern at LYLO or MYLO since it can guarantee a win for mafia. Also, deadlines tend to be less of a concern as everyone is expected to post often.

Sorry about the missed article last time. This time we will get a double-sized feature to make up for it! To recap: W.T. Sherman conquered Atlanta, and wants to evacuate the citizens to raze the town as part of his scorched earth policy. The Confederate General, Hood, thinks this is the cruelest thing ever. Sherman replied that the actions he has seen in the war so far mean that any definition of cruelty is pointless.

However, the General Hood was not the only one who thought poorly of Sherman's plan. The mayor of Atlanta also had something to say:

ATLANTA, GA., September 11, 1864.

Maj. Gen. W. T. SHERMAN:

SIR: We, the undersigned, mayor and two of the council for the city of Atlanta, for the time being the only legal organ of the people of the said city to express their wants and wishes, ask leave most earnestly, but respectfully, to petition you to reconsider the order requiring them to leave Atlanta. At first view it struck us that the measure would involve extraordinary hardship and loss, but since we have seen the practical execution of it so far as it has progressed, and the individual condition of the people, and heard their statements as to the inconveniences, loss, and suffering attending it, we are satisfied that the amount of it will involve in the aggregate consequences appalling and heart-rending. Many poor women are in advanced state of pregnancy; others now having young children, and whose husbands, for the greater part, are either in the army, prisoners, or dead. Some say, "I have such an one sick at my house; who will wait on them when I am gone?" Others say, "what are we to do? We have no house to go to, and no means to buy, build, or rent any; no parents, relatives, or friends to go to." Another says, "I will try and take this or that article of property, but such and such things I must leave behind, though I need them much." We reply to them, "General Sherman will carry your property to Rough and Ready, and General Hood will take it thence on," and they will reply to that, "but I want to leave the railroad at such place and cannot get conveyance from there on." We only refer to a few facts to try to illustrate in part how this measure will operate in practice. As you advanced the people north of this fell back, and before your arrival here a large portion of the people had retired south, so that the country south of this is already crowded and without houses enough to accommodate the people, and we are informed that many are now staying in churches and other outbuildings. This being so, how is it possible for the people still here (mostly women and children) to find any shelter? And how can they live through the winter in the woods? No shelter or subsistence, in the midst of strangers who know them not, and without the power to assist them much, if they were willing to do so. This is but a feeble picture of the consequences of this measure. You know the woe, the horrors and the suffering cannot be described by words; imagination can only conceive of it, and we ask you to take these things into consideration. We know your mind and time are constantly occupied with the duties of your command, which almost deters us from asking your attention to this matter, but thought it might be that you had not considered this subject in all of its awful consequences, and that on more reflection you, we hope, would not make this people an exception to all mankind, for we know of no such instance ever having occurred; surely none such in the United States, and what has this helpless people done, that they should be driven from their homes to wander strangers and outcasts and exiles, and to subsist on charity? We do not know as yet the number of people still here; of those who are here, we are satisfied a respectable number, if allowed to remain at home, could subsist for several months without assistance, and a respectable number for a much longer time, and who might not need assistance at any time. In conclusion, we most earnestly and solemnly petition you to reconsider this order, or modify it, and suffer this unfortunate people to remain at home and enjoy what little means they have.

Respectfully submitted.JAMES M. CALHOUN,Mayor.

E. E. RAWSON,S.C. WELLS,Councilmen.

Sherman thought about this petition and replied hastily:

HDQRS. MILITARY DIVISION OF THE MISSISSIPPI,In the Field, Atlanta, Ga., September 12, 1864.

JAMES M. CALHOUN, Mayor, E. E. RAWSON, and S. C. WELLS,Representing City Council of Atlanta:

GENTLEMEN: I have your letter of the 11th, in the nature of a petition to revoke my orders removing all the inhabitants from Atlanta. I have read it carefully, and give full credit to your statements of the distress that will be occasioned by it, and yet shall not revoke my orders, simply because my orders are not designed to meet the humanities of the case, but to prepare for the future struggles in which millions of good people outside of Atlanta have a deep interest. We must have peace, not only at Atlanta but in all America. To secure this we must stop the war that now desolates our once happy and favored country. To stop war we must defeat the rebel armies that are arrayed against the laws and Constitution, which all must respect and obey. To defeat these armies we must prepare the way to reach them in their recesses provided with the arms and instruments which enable us to accomplish our purpose. Now, I know the vindictive nature of our enemy, and that we may have many years of military operations from this quarter, and therefore deem it wise and prudent to prepare in time. The use of Atlanta for warlike purposes is inconsistent with its character as a home for families. There will be no manufactures, commerce, or agriculture here for the maintenance of families, and sooner or later want will compel the inhabitants to go. Why not go now, when all the arrangements are completed for the transfer, instead of waiting till the plunging shot of contending armies will renew the scenes of the past month? Of course, I do not apprehend any such thing at this moment, but you do not suppose this army will be here until the war is over. I cannot discuss this subject with you fairly, because I cannot impart to you what I propose to do, but I assert that my military plans make it necessary for the inhabitants to go away, and I can only renew my offer of services to make their exodus in any direction as easy and comfortable as possible. You cannot qualify war in harsher terms than I will. War is cruelty and you cannot refine it, and those who brought war into our country deserve all the curses and maledictions a people can pour out. I know I had no hand in making this war, and I know I will make more sacrifices to-day than any of you to secure peace. But you cannot have peace and a division of our country. If the United States submits to a division now it will not stop, but will go on until we reap the fate of Mexico, which is eternal war. The United States does and must assert its authority wherever it once had power. If it relaxes one bit to pressure it is gone, and I know that such is the national feeling. This feeling assumes various shapes, but always comes back to that of Union. Once admit the Union, once more acknowledge the authority of the National Government, and instead of devoting your houses and streets and roads to the dread uses of war, and this army become at once your protectors and supporters, shielding you from danger, let it come from what quarter it may. I know that a few individuals cannot resist a torrent of error and passion such as swept the South into rebellion, but you can part out so that we may know those who desire a government and those who insist on war and its desolation. You might as well appeal against the thunder-storm as against these terrible hardships of war. They are inevitable, and the only way the people of Atlanta can hope once more to live in peace and quiet at home is to stop the war, which can alone be done by admitting that it began in error and is perpetuated in pride. We don't want your negroes or your horses or your houses or your lands or anything you have, but we do want, and will have, a just obedience to the laws of the United States. That we will have, and if it involves the destruction of your improvements we cannot help it. You have heretofore read public sentiment in your newspapers that live by falsehood and excitement, and the quicker you seek for truth in other quarters the better for you. I repeat then that by the original compact of government the United States had certain rights in Georgia, which have never been relinquished and never will be; that the South began war by seizing forts, arsenals, mints, custom-houses, &c., long before Mr. Lincoln was installed and before the South had one jot or title of provocation. I myself have seen in Missouri, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi hundreds and thousands of women and children fleeing from your armies and desperadoes, hungry and with bleeding feet. In Memphis, Vicksburg, and Mississippi we fed thousands upon thousands of the families of rebel soldiers left on our hands and whom we could not see starve. Now that war comes home to you, you feel very different. You deprecate its horrors, but did not feel them when you sent car-loads of soldiers and ammunition and molded shells and shot to carry war into Kentucky and Tennessee, and desolate the homes of hundreds and thousands of good people who only asked to live in peace at their old homes and under the Government of their inheritance. But these comparisons are idle. I want peace, and believe it can now only be reached through union and war, and I will ever conduct war with a view to perfect an early success. But, my dear sirs, when that peace does come, you may call on me for anything. Then will I share with you the last cracker, and watch with you to shield your homes and families against danger from every quarter. Now you must go, and take with you the old and feeble, feed and nurse them and build for them in more quiet places proper habitations to shield them against the weather until the mad passions of men cool down and allow the Union and peace once more to settle over your old homes at Atlanta.

Yours, in haste,W. T. SHERMAN,Major-General, Commanding.

For the first time, Sherman made public his perception of cruelty, of war and of the necessary results and interrelations of both.

One interesting thing is that he notes Mexico is in a perpetual state of war. How correct he was! Even now, drug lords are killing each other all over Mexico, including in the prison system.

What do you think? Is Sherman's view too pessimistic? Is it realistic? Next time will be another double-size so we can finish this and move to our next series. However, I won't reveal it yet.

Symmetry is much more interesting, but anyway I took my username from William Blake's "The Tyger" way before I started on this site. I wrote my dissertation on him, and when I had to come up with a cool sounding name for MSN messenger, I went with Fearful Symmetry. I was young, and pretentious. Now I'm older, and only a bit less pretentious. Symmetry stuck.

Q. Bilateral or radial?

Fearful, see above.

Q. Have you ever forgotten to turn your schwag off?

If so, describe the experience in 1000 words or fewer.

I don't know what this means, but I consulted Urban Dictionary, and it suggests either cheap pot or promotional merchandise. I have never inhaled promotional merchandise, or been turned off cheap pot.

Q. What do you do for a living?

I'm a researcher- most of my money comes from funding my PhD project, or from research, teaching, or editing jobs associated with it.

Q. What was your major in college?

English Lit, and Renaissance history. Not a big money spinner that one.

Q. What is your favourite cocktail?

I don't really do cocktails- I'm not a fan of sweet stuff. Maybe a Long Island ice tea. A few good nights started out with a few of those, and ended with me waking up on a train home.

Q. ASL + Stats

I can sign my name, and know a few basic phrases, but that's in BSL. I don't really know how they match up.

Q. What brand, sub-brand and product line of deodorant do you use? (e.g. Old Spice Sweat Defence Fresh; Gillette Regular Arctic Blast, etc.)

As long as it's cheap, and isn't Lynx, I generally do ok with anything. Polo Blue is always a good choice for covering the worst.

Q. I (saxitoxin) will give you one of the following vehicles, however, you may not sell it, barter it, or in any other way make a profit off it. You will have to pay for your own fuel, insurance and so forth. You also may not give it away before 5 years have passed. Do you accept my gift and, if so, which do you choose?

Option 1: 2012 Chevrolet Volt in Sky Silver

Option 2: 2012 Nissan Juke in Midnight Black

Option 3: 2011 Škoda Octavia in Goldenrod

Option 4: 2009 Horse in Brown

Option 5: 2009 24' Boston Whaler L in Puerto Rican police livery

Option 6: 2010 Neoplan Megaliner in Ulusoy livery

Option 7: 2006 Leopard 2-A6 in Bundeswehr woodland colour pattern

I don't drive, or have anywhere to put a horse, so whichever of those has the highest resale value. If we're assuming I have to keep my choice, I could probably eat the horse.

Q. Do you have a favorite thread? What's a subject or two that you don't know much about, but wish you did, albeit due to being interesting or practical?

Of my own? That would be the Cute Baby Animal Appreciation Thread. From other people, I don't know. There are a lot that I enjoy for different reasons. It's no secret that I like to talk about American politics, so some of my favourites have been where I got to see sides of a debate that were unavailable to me in the UK.

I like to know other people's opinions on music. I'm pretty crap at getting in to new music, and don't often don't know where to start when it comes to getting in to stuff with a huge back-catalogue, say, for example Jazz. Getting advice on what to pick up as a primer is always great.

Q. Is 1984 overrated? And a follow up if you so desire, why, or why not overrated?

In my opinion:

Short answer- no. It's an excellent book, and everyone should read it. Longer answer, yes- it's not as great as it's made out to be, whilst still being excellent.

It's still a better book than Brave New World, which is the standard point of comparison, but I think too many people take it as political philosophy outside of the period it was written in and take it as political prophecy. Also, Orwell's essays are even better.

Q. Where do you come out on the issue?

Astronauts

Q. In Hume's 'Enquiries concerning human understanding and concerning the principles of morals' in the first section of An Enquiry concerning the principles of morals there is a description of a particular type of character, a description which matches very neatly with an off topic poster. Which poster would that be?

I wouldn't dare to speculate

Q. Do you steal rolls? Or are you a bun man? Which would make the question, do you steal buns? Obviously.

Depends on the contents, but I feel temptation.

Q. Who do you think is the most annoying off topic poster?

I wouldn't dare to speculate.

Q. Naomily right?! Aww shucks that's not really a question.

It is not.

Q. Why don't you play more games? I'm (Aradhus) open for a doubles invite anytime.

A bunch of reasons- I got quite ill a while ago and couldn't be sure if I'd be online or be out for a few days at a time. I also like to play long games on big maps, so not a great combo if there's a chance of deadbeating. Plus the off-topics are plenty of fun anyway.

Q. Who taught you to spell your ID? Cemetary is spelled with a C and fewer M's

Big bad Billy Blake, but then he also used "Tyger", so maybe not the best teacher.

Q. How can you be here over 5 years -- and only play 66 games? that's like. . .um, carry the 8. . .maybe <10/yr

Ah, my dear Generally Getting Head, at some point you will learn that life isn't about keeping score in these kinds of relationships. If you leave behind a long trail of short term flings with young naifs, is that really better than having a smaller number of long relationships that you savour and remember? Turning tricks isn't my way, nor am I so obsessed with keeping score.

Q. Your profile pic looks like you are chewing on an infant's shoe. Do you have a fetish?

It looks like Yukio Mishima, that being who it's a picture of.

Q. If nagerous and clapper011 arm-wrestled, who would win?

I wouldn't dare to speculate.

Q. Is the plural of Symmetry: Symmetries or Siemmetries, or what?

Symmetries

Q. Did you pick an ID with two M's because you love M&M's? Good thing you didn't like Whattchamakallits.

I hate M&M's. If you want chocolate, get chocolate. If you want candy, get candy. Don't buy something that ends up being neither, but in tiny portions.

Q. WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT THE ANIME "CANDY CANDY?" YOU A FAN?

I've never seen it.

Q. Your five FAV Eurovision songs ever?

The best thing about Eurovision in the UK is Terry Wogan commentating while obviously getting more drunk as the whole charade heads into the night.

Q. If you had to choose one of the following mythical creatures to exist in real-life, with all the attendant powers it had in popular legend, which would you choose and why?(a) Santa Claus(b) Easter Bunny(c) Bibendum(d) Jack Frost(e) Snegurochka(f) Tomte

It's crazymilkshake5. You and your four older siblings were named by lazy lazy hippies.

Q. What Pokemon would you be if you had to choose?

Jigglypuff, obviously.

Issue 67 is out and it looks like another two great articles from the Strategy Section for your consideration to make your games more enjoyable.

First we have Crazymilkshake5 with a cross analysis of Game principles and those of real life. And some where in between we even get a bit of a history lesson to boot. So be sure to read "CC in History" by Crazymilkshake5.

Then we have the first part of a three part article series about what is, and what is not a Bonus Monkey and when is it OK to conquer a bonus zone. "The Bonus Monkey is Your Friend, Leave Him for last Part 01" by Viceroy63, Promises to be an eye full.

We here at the Strategy Team are dedicated to serving you with thought provoking articles that make you go, "Hmmm," =) so if there is anything in particular that you, the reader, would like to see us working on or write about, in the way of strategy, Please feel free to let us know. Your opinions and comments are always welcomed and appreciated.

The date is the 24th of June, 1812. French forces under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte are about to march into Russian territory. Now obviously the Russians are not going to stand for this. So they devise a plan to dwindle down the French forces and then force them into a full retreat. Here’s how the Russians do this. While Napoleon is marching his troops to St. Petersburg, the Russians plan on hitting him using guerrilla warfare tactics (I'll get into that later). But guerrilla warfare wasn't the only trick they had up their sleeves; It was the Bait and Snare trick that was the downfall of the French. What the Bait and Snare trick is, can be divided into 3 steps.

Step one, Set the Bait:This step sets the trap for the French to fall in. The French had a goal, Get to St. Petersburg. While the French were marching towards St. Petersburg, the Russians ambushed them with guerrilla warfare (a tactic of hiding, waiting, and then ambushing them when they didn't expect it). This made Napoleon mad, increasing his desire to get to St. Petersburg, weakening his ranks and also destroying his troops’ morale.

Step two, No Way Out:So the Russians had the French right where they wanted them, deep in Russian territory, away from French supply lines. What are the three things needed for war? Troops, supplies, and morale. One of the ways the Russians stopped the French from getting supplies is by burning towns before the French got there.

Step 3, An Easy Kill:Now with two of the three things needed for war out of the hands of the French, or ripped out of their hands in some cases, all the Russians had to do now was just move in for the kill. Well, they didn't actually move in for the kill, the winter did that. With soldiers starving, horses dying, and cannons being left behind, the French were eventually reduced and forced to retreat by the Russians.

Now what is the point of this article you say? Just a History lesson? Nay I say!

The point of this article is to point out what Napoleon did right and what he did wrong and how that can be transferred to CC.

One thing that Napoleon did wrong was that he went to deep into Russian territory, overextending himself, making him an easy kill. Overextending is spreading oneself out too thin. Let’s say that you just cashed for 25 troops, exciting stuff, so you go and attack everything in sight. But before you know it, you have 3 guys left and you haven't killed anybody. Now you have virtually no way to defend yourself, or your bonuses, or your allies. The next turn your enemy is just going to march right in and break your bonuses, and he might even take them.

What the Russians did right, other than win, was cutting off France’s supply lines. Now how to do this in CC is if you’re in a fog game, use some guys to draw away his troops from his bonus, while you have a horde of troops hiding just out of his sight, then you just march right in and break his bonus.

This has been CC in history, Number 1.

(PM me with ideas of who to do next! the one that wins will be the one chosen!

The Bonus Monkey is your Friend; Leave him for last! Part 01by Viceroy63

PBecquey wrote:New player here... noob, I guess. What exactly is a "bonus monkey"?

They are referring to an escalating card game with a large number of players. Typically a bonus like Australia or something will not determine the winner of the game. The bonuses from the cards will get into the 30s, 40s, or even higher, so the small bonuses don't mean much.

A bonus monkey is someone who sacrifices too much to go after a bonus in these games.

In other words a Bonus Monkey or a "BM" is some one who places more consideration on acquiring the bonus zones, in particular South America or Oceania, than on the over all strategy of the game or his other stacks in more strategic locations. The BM has more of a short term out look on the game than the long range plan of survival and winning. The BM tends to think that the acquiring of 2 extra bonus troops per turn will assist them in their winning the game, but does not really consider the cost of acquiring the bonus zone in the first place. In these series of articles, we shall examine the pros and cons of being a Bonus Monkey and the true cost that it entails the BM himself.

This will be a three part article series but in this first part we will examine the only time when you should try to obtain the bonus zone. You may find this hard to believe but there is a particular situation when it can be beneficial to own a bonus zone if it is done correctly at the beginning of the game. Without of course placing at risk any of your other primary regions and stacks. But keep in mind that this is only the exception to the rule and not the rule itself. Also we can not truly consider this first situation that of being a bonus monkey but merely that of simply taking advantage of a rare situation, if the opportunity arises, of conquering a bonus zone while not incurring any risk to ones strategical posture.

At any other time or set of circumstances, other then the one that we shall go into, in this first part of this three part series; Being a BM is not only detrimental to your over all strategical position, it also leads to certain doom and failure almost 99% of the times. Again let me repeat that a true BM is some one who gives all consideration to acquiring and maintaining a bonus zone at all cost and is unwilling to part with the bonus zone even when more advantages opportunities presents themselves. The reason for this explanation will be made more clear in parts 02 and 03 of this three part article feature. But here are just some of the disadvantages of being a BM.

1. You'll be a target. Grabbing a bonus makes many players concerned that you're growing too powerful, and this situation is true in all types of spoil games. Some players will leave you alone, but other players will dedicate themselves to breaking your bonus.

2. You risk isolating yourself. Another strategy to dealing with BM's is to take out their territories in other parts of the map. If you focus on taking and defending Oz for example, you could find yourself losing your footholds on other continents, greatly limiting your offensive capabilities.

3. You may make it easier for someone else to eliminate a player. By conquering a continent you reduce the troop strength of the players there making those regions one less to worry about when it comes time to eliminate those players. And besides, a small continent is a great place to set up a nice block and keep the players inside safe from other players and ripe for elimination by you.

Again let's keep in mind, in examining the only situation when conquering a bonus zone would be beneficial, that this is not really being a BM but simply appears to be so at first glance. This is really just taking advantage of a situation if and when the opportunity presents itself. These circumstances are in fact extremely rare and exacting and should be considered in every detail before attempting to conquer the bonus zone. And while conquering a bonus zone under these circumstance may be easy, the hard part is to just let go should some one challenge your bonus zone as you would any stack that was under attack. Misunderstanding this principle will cost you dearly in the attempt of keeping your bonus zone and holding on to a bonus zone under fire is itself the act of a BM. The development of your other stacks must never be placed at risk for a bonus zone. It just would not be worth it.

First of all your initial drop would have to include 3 of the four territories on the bonus zone. Look to the above map as an example. For this example I chose South America as it is the better of the two lessor bonus zones because it gives you access to two other zones (North America and Africa) where as Oceania only gives you access to just the one, Asia zone. I also chose as an example the Primest of the prime properties, Dubai and Chicago. Now if by some extreme stroke of luck your drops included all four of the territories in your bonus zone, then it's not being a BM at all but just the way that things worked out. A BM is actively going for that which he does not have.

So you have 3 out of 4 regions of the bonus zone and of the other 4 regions (in a six player game you get 7 regions), at least two of them are side by side (Dubai and Delhi) so that you can form a stack of 5 troops there easily. If all 4 are connected two by two's in two different parts of the map then so much the better. But the odds of any two of the other four regions falling side by side are very low indeed. Out of 39 regions left, it is unlikely that even two of the four other drops will fall side by side. Even less likely that the drop will be in a prime locations. Also you must be the first player to play in the bonus zone. So with this criteria met, let's examine the why's?

The stacks:You must have at least 3 good stacks in diverse areas or continents of the map, if you are going to survive and be in any kind of a position to eliminate anyone. If the initial drops are in good locations then so much the better. If you only have one stack for example and there is an easy player to eliminate on the other side of the world and you can't get to him with out having to fight off half the players in the game to get to that one easy elimination, then what good is having a single stack no matter how large it may be? This is normally what happens with BM's. They sacrifice all including their stacks in different parts of the world in order to attain that one bonus zone, that one stack.

The secret to winning an escalating spoils game is to simply survive to a point where the spoils trade in for troops is large enough to begin eliminating other players and start taking their spoils to make up for the troops lost in eliminating the other players. Otherwise you would be left in a weakened troops strength position and most likely be eliminated yourself by the next player for your spoils, early on in the game. So then, having stacks in diversified regions not only helps you to survive as some one looking to eliminate you might not be able to get to all three of your stacks but also helps greatly in the elimination of other players should fortune smile upon you and you are the one to receive the good amount of troops for your spoils trade. With that in mind, lets examine the set up.

The Set up:Now that you are in a position where your other stacks of 3's can be combined and secured (or at least just two of them) and all you need do is to take out that fourth region in order to form your bonus zone plus the other two stacks that form themselves as well, then that would be the ideal situation in which to go for that bonus zone. After all the bonus zone itself would be like one of your stacks and you would not neglect any of your stacks? But remember that you must also be the first to play in that bonus zone to take that fourth region. For if the owner of that fourth region, drops on that region first, then the cost of owning that bonus zone has doubled and even tripled in most cases. And that would place the development of your other stacks at peril. Otherwise this is the only true ideal situation for going for a bonus zone.

This now takes us to...

Troop strength:And this is the major point to taking a bonus zone in the beginning of round 01, because if you spend a whole lot of troops in taking a bonus zone then in general you are weaker than the other players. Every one will then have their eye on you as a potential target for elimination and this is a dangerous place to be in. Having the fewest number of troops overall makes one a prime candidate for elimination. But having many troops make all other players ignore you as candidate for elimination because it is simpler and easier to eliminate a weaker player (troops strength wise), than trying to eliminate a player with many more troops.

This is why you do not want to spend too much time and energy on trying to conquer a bonus zone. But if you can do it when there are only 3 enemy troops on that fourth region then it would make a nice investment in the building up of your other stacks during the rest of the game. This is why you must be the first to assault in the bonus zone if this is to work, because if that other player who owns that fourth region goes first and decides to deploy 3 troops there, then the cost of obtaining that bonus zone would cripple the development of your other stacks in other parts of the world. And should you fail to gain that bonus zone on the first turn, then just form a stack there from what ever troops are left and forget it.

But assuming that the drop was perfect for you and there was at least two other regions side by side and you combined them and so on one of the other two stacks of 3's you deployed at least 1 troop for a total of 4 troops on that stack there just in case and 2 troops on the region of the bonus zone that you will assault from and you lose approximately 3 troops more or less (an even swap of troops), then you can look forward to making up for your investment of 3 lost troops in the very next round and being precisely where you should be troop strength wise along with everyone else and every round after that is simply an extra 2 troops to build up your troops strength and your stacks.

That would be the only possible and ideal situation that this SoC reporter can see for conquering a bonus zone. But only if done under those particular criteria. You would then have, including the bonus zone, at least 3 stacks in 3 different regions in the game. Your troops strength numbers will be comparable with the highest troops strength players in the game and so will be your survivability and offensive capabilities in the long run. But at last, such ideal circumstances are rare and few between. You may get 3 of the 4 regions in the initial drop but will any of the other four regions be side by side? Where you can then just combine them? Or will you neglect them and risk them in view of the bonus zone?

If at least two of your other regions are not next to each other, then how can you build them all up and take a bonus zone at the same time? You can try but it would consume all that you have in the long run. Remember that the very first round is about considering which Stacks are vital to your plans of survival and the primary one should get 2 troops if you can not combine any two regions. That goes without saying even if you do not have the opportunity to gain the Bonus Zone.

Another part of the over all picture is; Location, location, location. There are many negative aspects to being a BM and sacrificing good location is just one of them. We shall explore these and other situations in Parts 02 and 03 of, "The Bonus Monkey is your friend, Leave him for last."

Hello again my friends, and welcome to your favorite part of the Newsletter, "War Games", where you can find information about CC Tournaments!

Well, after the gargantuan effort that we put into Issue 66, most of my team elected to take a break this time around, so this will be a brief edition of War Games. (Incidentally, it seems that not all subscribers received Issue 66. You can always go and read it in the forum version. Especially if you've been waiting to see our interviews with MudPuppy, greenoaks, or koontz1973, I suggest you check it out.)

The news in the Tournaments world right now are the pretty new tags in the Create/Join forum. I haven't gotten used to them yet, but most people are delighted with them.

In Issue 66 we brought you a list of the winners of the Primes and the TO of the year/TO Career award. I thought it might be interesting to go back, now that the dust has settled, and get some feedback from some of them.

Many of the winners were very gratified to have won:

poptartpsycho18 wrote:Thank you, I'm glad I won for a tourney that I spent the most time and effort on in my entire career of running tourneys. Seeing that my efforts are appreciated makes me want to run and play more tourneys when I had just decided not to re-up my membership.

WorldCup4James wrote:I'm beyond honored to be even a blip in this incredibly dedicated tournament world at CC. Whatever the case, go Germany! Euro Cup 2012!

kuma32478 wrote:I truly appreciate being nominated. Wish I could have won it by organizing a grassroots campaign about the issues, but that was frowned upon. Maybe next year I'll make a stronger push for gold.

Serbia wrote:I was thrilled! I celebrated by getting drunk!What was the occasion again?

Of course, some have advanced scientific theories about why they won:

barterer2002 wrote:Runner up for both TO of the year and TO Career Achievment. The chicks must dig me.

chapcrap wrote:Apparently I was nominated and voted for. I can only assume it was my good looks.

Koontz1973 just wants us to know that he is the reincarnation of Claude Monet:

koontz1973 wrote:What can I say, wowand thanks to all who voted in this.Completely unexpected but it was an enjoyable tourny to runso expect the sequel some time soon.

The winner of the TO Career Award, Highlander attack, had a bit of a personal message:

HighlanderAttack wrote:Thank you to all my friends and all of the great people on this site. I really appreciate all of you. I have enjoyed running tourneys my whole life and I have taken it to the next level with CC. My real life is truly busy right now, but I hope to have time to continue what I have been doing and even do it better, but I have to take care of more important things right now. Thanks again.

And last but not least, I give the podium to the organiser of the Awards:

Lindax wrote:In my personal opinion this contest was a success, especially considering it was the first time. It certainly wasn't perfect and I received various comments and suggestions to that effect. They will be taken into consideration for the 2012 version, which hopefully will be bigger and better. We're already working on it!

Once you have your list of sorted players, there is an Excel function that you can use to put your players names into the various game lists. This is the VLOOKUP, or vertical lookup function.This function takes a value from a reference position in a vertical table and puts it into the cell. It is best explained by using an example and the example I will use is a 16 player game where everyone has to play everyone else:=So there will be 15 rounds of 8 games and sorting is not required in this round-robin style tournament. The number in column D is the round number and the numbers in columns E and F are the reference numbers for the matchups; for instance in round 1 player a plays player 9 and in round 2, player 1 plays player 16 etc.OK, it takes a while to type in all the two sets of numbers for the 15 rounds, but it's a lot easier than copying or typing in the names. Now we can use the VLOOKUP function to copy the names from the reference table into the matchup tables.First we will define our table, which will be the list of 16 player's names in column B and their reference number in column A:-

select the list of player's names by dragging down your mouse from A3 to B18

On the Excel menu select Insert/Name/Define

Type in a suitable name - say "Table" (notice that the range of the table is defined correctly as "=SheetName!$A$3:$B$18")

Click OK and you are done

Note that if you wanted to change your tournament for, say, a 20 player round-robin, you simply increase the table bottom value from B18 by 4 to B22.Now we have to copy the VLOOKUP function into the matchup table:-

Click on the first blank cell (G3)

Click the fx button next to the tick and cross

Type V and select VLOOKUP

Into the Vlookup_value box click on E3

Into the Table_array type "Table"

Into the column index number type "2" (so that you select the 2nd column of your table)

Into the Range-lookup type "FALSE" (to exclude near matches)

You are virtually done! Simply copy down G3 to G10, then copy the whole block across to column H. Then copy the complete block from G3 to H10 into the remaining 14 rounds - done"You can now use the spreadsheet for a new tournament simply by replacing the 16 names in your table with your new set of names!

(These "tips" are ones that I have tried to make it a bit easier in managing my own tournaments. I am sure there are many different and better methods than these, so please let me know. Any queries on the above I'll be glad to respond to!)

2. This week's new TPA tournament is Bracketology by ralphcptc. This tourney features both a first round of 8-player terminator, followed by a 1v1 elimination bracket. Your performance in the terminator round will determine your seeding in the bracket phase.

4. If you're a true daredevil and miss the Map Blaster series, then you absolutely must try Angola's 71-game Madness! A copy of the very first Map Blaster, it features the 71 maps that were in play at that time. And yes, of course you play them all at once!

5. Well, since I'm stuck doing Join This? Or Not! this time around, I'm just going to gratuitously mention that I currently have two tournaments in signups. The third installment in my History of Nuclear War series is out, entitled very appropriately, History of Nuclear War III. See if you can guess what types of spoils are used in this tourney! On the other hand, if you prefer Flat Rate spoils, the second installmentment in my Best Of series is out, DK's Best of 2011 - Flat Rate features the nine maps that I like from the 2011 crop.

Hey y'all. That fortnight just hit me from behind! Didn't see that one coming!

TPA1 Newssonicsteve maintains his lead over MudPuppy in the Standings, keeping a good 2.8 point lead over MudPuppy, which is the equivalent of winning one Major Tournament.

TPA2 News

barterer2002 wrote:Kinnison's So you wanna be a Pirate and safariguy's Put Me In Coach have been added to the scoreboard.

Barterer2002's joint victory with dtellis in the Major Tournament (World Cup Format Doubles II by Lindax) has boosted him to the top, along with a couple other good scores. Tripitaka's win in So, you wanna be a Pirate has finally been tallied, surging her (I think it's her) to 5th position. Liveoak, loutil, nolefan5311 and Gameplayer win 500 points from the Put me In Coach tournament by safariguy5 scoring their first points on the TPA2 scoreboard. In 3rd we see Timminz, and 4th place we see bones2484.

Also, sonicsteve's Sonic Goes Back To School tourney is back in progress.

Sully's Birthday!!!On behalf of the Newsletter (or maybe just on behalf of me, but whatever)... I would like to congratulate Sully on his 293rd Birthday

That's all from me this week.Opinion? That's me.Predictions? Got 'em. (most of the time)On the TPA scene when it needs to be (you know what, I really need to work on a better slogan )

Have a great fortnight

Sensfan

Thank you one and all for your overwhelming support. It's no mean feat to get a hand And now I get two! Welcome please to Flapcake who debuts with his first article. He's no stranger to those of you who trawl through the Foundry proper, and he ain't half talented!! Welcome also to disco bandit. Looking forward to what he will produce, hopefully next issue - prod, prod A word of appreciation too to koontz1973 for his unerring dedication!

Enough pleasantries, onto this issue. Flapcake discusses his map of Denmark and the process to this point. It's been a long road and Flapcake shares his experiences. Hopefully we'll all get to play that soon! koontz1973 is back with your favourite and mine the Foundry News and the informative What's Where. Did your own map, or your favourite map, make the cut this issue? Finally, I spotlight one of the prolific natty dread's latest offerings in War of Wizards – a study in gameplay development. It's a crucial point in development so get in there and have your word.

And completely from left field ... this from Star Trek: First Contact:

We are the Borg. Lower your shields and surrender your ships. We will add your biological and technological distinctiveness to our own. Your culture will adapt to service us. Resistance is futile!

Koontz wrote:This is a new series of articles written by you lot. This first one is by Flapcake who is right now getting a lot done in the foundry. Here is what he wanted to say about his first map. Excuse his English as it is not his first language. If you want to get your name in the dispatch, send thehippo8 or myself (koontz1973) a word.

Opening post wrote:Denmark is geographically and strategically interesting and has many challenges as a map. In my first draft I had inserted some areas such as converting one's troops to neutral after 1 round, the idea was to make it difficult to take a bonus area. After many good advice I dropped the idea, the map can be difficult enough as it is.I also had 2 areas that were not part of a bonus, I walked away from that idea because it made ​​no sense for the game.The distribution of bonus troops are based on how many areas that adjacent to each other, ie how many places can be attacked from, and how many areas there are kept together.So the map went from 67 areas to 60, and the size from 1400x1400 to 840x800 to 765x800 to 800x800 to 700x800Legend had me really thinking, my brain almost melted, there's so many ways to for it, but it had to match rest of map. The current version i like the most.

Why a map of Denmark? Yes why not. I'm Danish and I thought it would be fun to play on a map of my one country, and I didn't want to sit and wait for someone to made ​​a map of Denmark, so I decided to try myself.I soon found out that it was not so easy and what it takes to make a good and nice map. I was also pleasantly surprised by the generosity and help that was to find in the foundry. I was new (I still feel I'm new) and I jumped straight into it and posted my map as my very first post, immediately I got a response from people. I would say, that even if it is me who has put a lot of work in to it, it's also people in the foundry who made the map. The comments, suggestions for changes and help was overwhelming, all this ​​brought the map up to where it is now. Had it not gone through this process it was never been so beautiful as it is. I'm not big at graphics but with the help I got from the foundry, I feel that I got better.After a month in Beta, we found out that the gameplay was not really fully been used as supposed to. A player found it easier / quicker to go after an old fashion victory, and nothing wrong with that, it can still, but modifying from "hold 5 shields" to "hold 4 shields" lures a little more now, and forces players to think a little more strategic.The map has been a huge success. There are over 1200 games that have either been played or are going on, it's great, I can only say thank you.The process to make the map has given me desire to try to make more maps and I currently have 2 maps started in the foundry, it is gone very well with them as well.

Advice for new mapmakers: Have patience, listen to (constructive) criticism, don't be afraid to try out suggestions, post what ever you got.

The foundry consists of volunteers, people who put their free time in to come with suggestions or/and making map for others to play on, therefore a lot of patents is needed. Don't be disappointed if your post not answered 2 min after, don't worry some will answer you. And don't worry you will get lot of criticism, some you can use and some not, it's up to you, but if you're not willing to make the necessary changes, its not going to happened, so use the criticism constructive.What some times sound like weird or stupid suggestions, try it out anyway, you can't tell if it works or not before you see it, and usually it's not that dumb.Do not wait years to post your draft or changes, let the foundry see what you have come up with, its sometimes the small changes that makes big discussions.

Some early work.Viewed from now on, a little naive and rough map, but you might as well play it as it was from this to the final result, basics are still there.Gameplay, legend and colour set are in place.Details and finish are adjusted.Click for the Map thread.New works.Trench Warfare.My idea for this map was to bring the game/battle in to close combat or dogfight if you like, so many war maps are taking place in map where the whole of Europe or America are involved. Here I am going down in the dust and trying to bring the feeling of what war is all about, facing you enemy close up, and WW1 was where it happened. The gameplay will bring your adrenaline pumping like a soldier in a wet dark trench viewtopic.php?f=241&t=154568&start=0Copenhagen sightseeing.Well yes, totally different set up. We all know tourists and most of us have tried to be one. For many its a race to getting to see as many sights as possible, at the shortest time ever I'm trying to bring this in by the gameplay.Copenhagen, was my obvious choice becouse I'm Danish, and Copenhagen does really have many sights to see, its also an exciting city and put down as a game map it have great strategic challenges.viewtopic.php?f=241&t=158529

I had good feedback for these maps so far and I hope they go all the way

Lots of movement this week, and lots of new maps to play around with.Drafting RoomRoberth is plodding along with Sweden.Gillipig is having a second go at map making. Lets hope this proves a better subject than math and he stays around long enough to finish this one.sannemanrobinson brings us the Incas.Israel has not got a map of its own, pitrules88 is going to try and change that. jscutler wants to bring Boston to the site, but has he got the graphics know how to pull it off.The Bison King is trying to get the American Heartland made but after a couple of weeks with nothing new. Lastly for in the drafting room, here are cairnswk's two entries into the classic city series.Sydney and Perth. Main FoundryThe foundries own RedBaron0 is fighting away to get Philadelphia done. We could al do with some more unique maps like this.Czech Slovak break up by oneyed is in the main foundry now.dana1971 is fighting for his cow. After all of the rustling, a winning solution may of been found. Now called 4 star meats.natty dread is not happy with only a large map, he wants his Eurasia map to be playable for small games. Therefore we get Eurasia mini.Wizards by natty dread.Clash of Kings by DiM is looking for game play nuances to be ironed out in what looks like to be the first true 1v1 map for the site.Flapcake is looking towards the graphics stamp for his world war one trench map. Keep your eyes out for the cat. Lastly in the main foundry this week is DiMs Pirates and Merchants map. Each player starts with a different pirate or merchant and has to complete his tasks first. Each one has a different task to complete and the names of the pirates should be familiar to some of you.Final ForgeThis section is getting a little busy with a lot of maps ready for play. With the 10 maps in beta play we have 8 maps waiting to get going.With xml stamps.Knights by koontz1973.Salams Switch by cairnswk.1982 by koontz1973.Eurasia (large) by natty dread.Waiting for the xml.Baltics Crusade by thenobodies80.Knights and Warlocks by DiM.

In Issue 53 I wrote about modelling in Chess revisited: What is the essence of the game? and in Issue 59 I wrote about gameplay in Gimme Good Gamieness. I ended up with something of a chart by which some quantifiable measure (purely subjective of course ). It’s time I made use of that chart again, albeit with a focus on another map heading through the Foundry.

natty dread is a seasoned performer in the Foundry. When he isn’t throwing his weight behind others, he’s there leading the way himself. War of Wizards is just another example of his talent in action! Here’s the current version:

Click image to enlarge.

This is, at first glance, a truly complex and interesting map. Take some time to work out the gameplay for yourself.

No ... go back and have a proper look before moving on with this article!! I mean it! ... you won’t get as much out of this if you don’t! Ok, back to the article then!!

So, as you’ve guessed, you start on the map itself and you are the character of a wizard. Wizard’s auto-deploy and begin attacking their surrounding territory. Smart wizards will go for the bonuses before getting their spells. No self-respecting wizard can afford to call themselves a professional without a few good spells. Okay, get them all then you can have a go for the Temple of Fury. A judicious balance between the spells bombarding the Temple and the ground troops being in the right place at the right time. Get the Temple and you can wipe out your competitor wizards. And the realm is yours!! Yes, for those of you who worked it out (or read the log), natty dread has modelled Master of Magic – the MSDOS game – but added his own flavour and conception.

As an aside, brilliant stuff natty dread. This is how you deal with developing the idea of a game without standing on other people’s copyright toes. I discussed this briefly in Issue 58 in Copyright: Woo-ooo-oooh!. Well done!

Discussion about gameplay

There’s no substitution for reading the actual thread, but here’s a brief run down. Because natty dread is such a good artist, his initial map wowed the audience. A supersize stamp on page one of the thread, a draft stamp on page two and on page four isaiah40 started talking about an imminent gameplay stamp. A lesser mortal would grasp that with both hands, but natty dread is made of sterner stuff and promptly advises isaiah40 that he clearly made a mistake as gameplay hadn’t been worked out. Although by this stage there’d already been a few iterations, it didn’t take long for the audience to ramp up suggestions that resulted in no less than two redraws to date(have a look at koontz1973’s 1982 if you want to see similar dedication). In the process, it became clear that gameplay revolved around a function of placement of towers, bonus tokens, correct linkages and neutral quantum. In other words, complex! But they are nearly there (if not there) and unless you have something to add I suspect that the gameplay is good to go for Beta!

Application of my funny chart!

Choices - Each tower has unique gameplay, whether you are a light or dark wizard, with decisions to make between where you go on the ground, which tokens you take, when to go for the spells and when to go for gold (literally and figuratively)

Compelling reason to make one decision or another - Seems to me that if you sit back too long then you’ll miss out because you’ll just let the other wizards get too strong, but attack too soon too hard and you’ll weaken yourself unnecessarily

Inability to determine the result of a decision - It is impossible to know the choices of your opponent(s) as they, like you, have different choices to make, that creates an element of the unknown, a discernable unknown, but an unknown all the same

Decisions are non-trivial - I see no waste here, make your decisions right!

There is a series of choices leading to an ultimate objective The game will finish by your good choices resulting in you taking out the competition (note that nuclear or game limit will add layers of complexity to this)

[i]Complexity of choices - This map certainly has a lot happening, although not so much as to be mind-boggling

Rules not too complex - The rules are clear and succinct

Indeterminate result of choices - Games are fun because you never fully know the consequences of your actions (covered to a degree already)

Time dependency - The game is not time dependent, there is a balance which will allow players to carefully consider each move and because of the options involved losses on one part of the board can be compensated by gains in another

Contextual dependency - The map is fully contextually dependent, this has a connection to the question on choices leading to an ultimate objective, but the thematic elements add also a layer of fun

Pointless choices - None that I can see

Predetermination - None that I can see

Pointless or counterproductive choices - Plenty of options to screw up here, but the map doesn’t contain dead zones or pointless actions other than contextually during the game itself (ie making the wrong decision)

Fair gameplay - Gameplay is balanced and fair

Opportunity to learn strategy - I believe that the options here are limitless, the game will seem fresh each time it is played as you will have to adapt and develop your decisions based on where you start and whether you are a light or dark wizard

Progressive and rational rules - The game will proceed with a degree of increasing tension with each move and the options will become starker and clearer as the game goes on

No weaknesses in the board - Weaknesses in earlier iterations have been considered, the current version addresses those but each game will result in the player having to carefully consider where their weaknesses lie

Pay-offs - There are distinct pay-offs for making the right decisions

Fresh and interesting gameplay - I believe that the gameplay is definitely interesting, there is a degree of freshness when compared to classic and for those who played the old MSDOS game, there are distinct reminders of the fun of old (if that could be called freshness!)

My score? The full 24 out of 24! But maybe that’s a little subjective ...

This issue in clans, we have some insight into the workings of the Clan Leaders Association as they revamp the Power Rankings, a brief look at whats coming in the semi's of the Newcomers Cup, and the spotlight on Division B as we start wrapping up Phase 1 of the Clan League. We also unveil all our Clan Icons and Banners that couldn't fit into the last issue of the newsletter!

Remember to check out all the other Latest Wars and Competitions in the Active Challenges sub-forum.

With the addition of another member to the Clan Directors Team, the CLA has started to work on doing some revamping now that they have more able bodies to rely on for some crucial tasks. The first thing looking to be revamped is the Power Rankings, which were previously run by Chuuuuck who has run out of time to continue with their organization.

This task will be headed up by none other than alt1978. The rankings have basically been dead for a little over a year, and were really a fairly nice way to see how other clans viewed each other, and their respective skill levels. This ranking system has nothing to due with results in wars, leagues or any other type of tournament. The system itself is all based on average position for each clan once all the ranks have been received by all the people voting.

Granted many have said that this is more of a popularity contest rather than a ranking system, but it gives everyone another chance to be at that coveted #1 spot on the charts. However, with more 50 active clans right now, the ranking system will be determining the top 25 clans, Although this may be very difficult to complete since there are many clans who probably deserve to be in the top 25, who may not even make it onto the board.

If you would like to be the person for your clan to do the voting contact your CLA representative, and if your clan isn't in the CLA then contact alt1978 to make sure no one else in your clan is the contact.

1 Side of the Bracket ran true to form, but the other was the tale for the unheralded as they shocked all pundits!Who will prevail? Stay Tuned for our special coverage with in-depth analysis from Skillfusniper33 next time on the CC Dispatch

[CL4] Clan League 4 SpotlightThe stand-out performances of the Phase have been the unblemished 100% records of the triumvirate from Divisions C, D and E.

Only Division B is left before we can declare Phase 1 Officially Complete, and it's been an entertaining Division with Game 10529537 making it a tie in the vs

battle, and the eagerly watched battle for top spot in that division with vsas both clans look to be holding onto their Home Games so far, and we're set for a nail-biter finale!

jetsetwilly wrote:Not very much to say really, our current 5-2 lead will probably be a 7-5 defeat fairly soon (well barring some luck)

It's been a good battle and a draw would have been enough for us but it looks like it's not to be. We never recovered from two first round dubs losses which ultimately cost us.

Still, I'm not offering congratulations to LOW quite yet

Both Clans stumbled against the aforementioned VDLL, Who took out an upset win and draw from the top 2 seeds, but their own challenge was halted at the tail end of the Phase with the contra result of a loss and a tie respectively against IF and

To give you guys something to look at, we wordy types turned to DiM to come up with a new set of clan icons to enliven our coverage. They are so darn pretty we thought we should let you see them all right here right now. Boy, there are a lot of clans. Do you know them all? If you don't see your clan here, or feel like you deserve an updated image, get in touch with the Dispatch and we'll put that right.

Lol, We just wanted to make sure we got all the clan icons to uplift our coverage of the Clan League, if any of the clans we missed out on are willing to send their images in to me or DiM, we'll be sure to include them in style

Kort's doublet is due to us experimenting with them to get the right shading, so I'm not sure being the guinea pig's is such a joyous accomplishment

Also, I'm dissatisfied with some of the answers to my Interrogation questions. I will be chasing you down every time you enter an airport, depart a plane, get in and out of a car. Every function you go to, every public bathroom you use. My readers demand the truth. And I get it for them, because I'm the best.